Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA,, has demanded that the U.S. space agency revoke a reported invitation to Chinese officials for an Earth-observation coordination conference at Langley Research Center next week.

In a March 4 letter to Administrator Charles Bolden, Wolf said he has learned that Chinese participants will be included in a meeting of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) strategic implementation team at Langley March 12-14.

Under a law drafted by Wolf, a frequent critic of China’s human rights and intelligence practices, NASA or the White House science office must certify to Congress that there will be no national security threat from an upcoming Chinese visit at least 14 days before the event.

Since the upcoming meeting falls within that limit, and there has apparently been no such certification, Wolf says “hosting of any Chinese visitors would be in clear violation of the law.

“Accordingly, I expect any participation by official Chinese visitors will be promptly canceled,” he continued.